Foreign Advanced Technology Surveillance Accountability Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2075 To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require information on the status of excessive surveillance and use of advanced technology to violate privacy and other fundamental human rights be included in the annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 19, 2021 Mr. CURTIS (for himself, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Mrs. KIM of California, Mr. PHIL- LIPS, and Ms. SPANBERGER) introduced the following bill; which was re- ferred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require information on the status of excessive surveillance and use of advanced technology to violate privacy and other fundamental human rights be included in the annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Foreign Advanced 4 Technology Surveillance Accountability Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2075.IH H2075 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2075 IH SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO ANNUAL COUNTRY REPORTS ON 1 HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES. 2 The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amended as 3 follows: 4 (1) In section 116 (22 U.S.C. 2151n), by add- 5 ing at the end the following: 6 ‘‘(h) STATUS OF EXCESSIVE SURVEILLANCE AND 7 USE OF ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY.— 8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The report required by 9 subsection (d) shall include, wherever applicable, a 10 description of the status of surveillance and use of 11 advanced technology to impose arbitrary or unlawful 12 interference with privacy, or unlawful or unnecessary 13 restrictions on freedom of expression, peaceful as- 14 sembly, association, or other internationally recog- 15 nized human rights in each country, including— 16 ‘‘(A) whether the government of such 17 country has adopted and is enforcing laws, reg- 18 ulations, policies, or practices relating to— 19 ‘‘(i) government surveillance or cen- 20 sorship, including through facial recogni- 21 tion, biometric data collection, internet and 22 social media controls, sensors, spyware 23 data analytics, non-cooperative location 24 tracking, recording devices, or other simi- 25 lar advanced technologies, and any allega- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2075.IH H2075 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2075 IH tions or reports that this surveillance or 1 censorship was unreasonable; 2 ‘‘(ii) extrajudicial searches or seizures 3 of individual or private institution data; 4 and 5 ‘‘(iii) surveillance of any group based 6 on political views, religious beliefs, eth- 7 nicity, or other protected category, in viola- 8 tion of equal protection rights; 9 ‘‘(B) whether such country has imported 10 or unlawfully obtained biometric or facial rec- 11 ognition data from other countries or entities 12 and, if applicable, from whom; and 13 ‘‘(C) whether the government agency end- 14 user has targeted individuals, including through 15 the use of technology, in retaliation for the ex- 16 ercise of their human rights or on discrimina- 17 tory grounds prohibited by international law, 18 including targeting journalists or members of 19 minority groups. 20 ‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 21 ‘‘(A) the term ‘internet and social media 22 controls’ means the arbitrary or unlawful impo- 23 sition of restrictions, by state or service pro- 24 viders, on internet and digital information and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2075.IH H2075 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2075 IH communication, such as through the blocking or 1 filtering of websites, social media platforms, 2 and communication applications, the deletion of 3 content and social media posts, or the penaliza- 4 tion of online speech, in a manner that violates 5 rights to free expression or assembly; and 6 ‘‘(B) the term ‘extrajudicial targeted sur- 7 veillance’ means the use of technology to ob- 8 serve the activities of individuals in a manner 9 that unlawfully or arbitrarily interferes with 10 their privacy, such as through physical moni- 11 toring or the interception of digital communica- 12 tions.’’. 13 (2) In section 502B(b) (22 U.S.C. 2304(b))— 14 (A) by redesignating the second subsection 15 (i) (as added by section 1207(b)(2) of Public 16 Law 113–4) as subsection (j); and 17 (B) by adding at the end the following: 18 ‘‘(k) STATUS OF EXCESSIVE SURVEILLANCE AND 19 USE OF ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY.—The report required 20 under subsection (b) shall include, wherever applicable, a 21 description of the status of excessive surveillance and use 22 of advanced technology to restrict human rights, including 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2075.IH H2075 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2075 IH the descriptions of such policies or practices required 1 under section 116(h).’’. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2075.IH H2075 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS